Hot-gas piston engine cylinder and mounting plate assembly



Nov. 4, 1952 A. HOROWITZ ETAL HOT-GAS PISTON ENGINE CYLINDER AND MOUNTING PLATE ASSEMBLY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Feb. 11. 1948 JNVEN TORS. JZLMNDRE 11020712122 BY lf/WIIK AIM 305503112 AGENT A. H own'z EIAL 2,616,242 HOT-GAS P ON ENGINE CYLINDER AND MOUNTING PLATE ASSEMBLY 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Nov. 4, 1952 Filed Feb. 11, 1948 INVENTORS. ALEWRHOBOMTZ BY HAZE/f AMERY 305561152 Patented Nov. 4, 1 952 HOT-GAS PISTON ENGINE CYLINDER AND MOUNTING PLATE ASSEMBLY Alexandre Horowitz and Hendrik Albert Bosseher, Eindhoven, Netherlands, assignors to Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, Hartford,

Conn as trustee Application February 11, 1948, Serial No. 7,654 Inthe Netherlands February 15, 1947 6 Claims. 1 Hot-gaspiston engines, such as hot-gas motor and refrigerators operating on the reverse hotgas motor principle, are especially suitable for mass production. This particularly applies to the smaller types, such as used for driving small generators, in light traction apparatus and in domestic refrigerators.

For such hot-gas piston engines to be manufactured on a large scale, which are generally contemplated for small power, it is important that.

component mounting should be as simple as possible and that any inspections and repairs that may be required should be carried out readily and without involved and time-wasting dismounting operations. It may furthermore be important to minimize the number of components. Precisely with the modern hot-gas piston engine, which is known to be constructed without cocks, valves, slides or similar distribution members at the cylinders and which consequently dispenses with many members that are required in other internal combustion engines, it is desirable not to spoil the resulting simplicity of construction by the use of many stems, bolts, screws, nuts with washers and similar connecting members.

According to the present invention a hot-gas piston engine of particularly simple construction is realized in that with a hot-gas piston engine comprising one or more cylinders in which pistons provided with piston rods are adapted to move, each cylinder being provided with heat-exchanging elements, each cylinder constitutes a structural element and in that provision is made of a mounting plate comprising a piston-rod straightline guide united with the mounting plate by a simple screw joint which is concentric with the centre line of the cylinder and also connects the cylinder to the mounting plate.

(The term heat-exchanging elements is used hereinafter for the sake of brevity. It is to be understood to mean elements for exchanging thermal energy.)

The use of complicated castings, such as cylinder blocks, which can only be manufactured with difiieulty and working up of which often requires special tools, is thus avoided. Use is made of a simple mounting plate; the cylinder may also be a component which is readily produced and worked up. Only one screw joint is thus required for uniting the said parts; further advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description of the accompanying drawing.

According to the invention, the heat-exchang ing element which serves to conduct away to the outside heat from the working medium in the hot-gas pistonengine is preferably united with the cylinder by a simple screw joint concentric with the centre line of the engine. This measure also assists in manufacturing mounting and dismounting. According to the invention, as an alternative, it is possible for the aforesaid heatexchanging element to be united with the mounting plate by a simple screw joint which is concentric with the centre line of the cylinder. In this case it is consequently possible to dismount the cylinder without loosening the heat-exchange ing element and this assists in any inspection or repair that may be required.

According to the invention, the heat-exchanging element which acts to supply heat from the outside to the working medium in the hot-gas piston engine is preferably united with the other heat-exchanging element by a simple screw joint which is concentric with the centre line of the cylinder. According to a further embodiment of the invention it is proposed to constitute the above mentioned joint by a pinching joint which is concentric with the center line of the cylinder and this also assists in simplifying mounting and dismounting of this member. Finally, also according to the invention, the channels which in multi-cylinder, double-acting hot-gas piston engines link up the cylinders are formed by cavities in the mounting plate. The great advantage of this embodiment of the invention is obvious, if we bear in mind that in the case of a concentric, screwed joint it is never possible to predetermine the relative position of the two parts interconnected by the screw joint with a tolerance of tenths of a millimeter. If the cylinders were interconnected by pipe pieces having flanges or screw caps, this would always entail difiiculties during mounting. According to the above mentioned embodiment of the invention. these difficulties are completely eliminated, since there is a junction between a channel and a cylinder on the one hand and between this channel and a further cylinder on the other hand, it being sub-. stantially immaterial whether or not the cylinders occupy their positions relative to the channel within very narrow limits. As a matter of course, the last-mentioned measure assists in facilitating the mounting of the engine.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readily carried into effect, it will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a sectional view of the cylinder and mounting plate.

Figure 2 shows a further embodiment of one of the joint connections.

Figure 2a shows a cross-sectional view thereof.

Figures 3 and 4 show schematic arrangements of a plurality of cylinders mounted in a plate according to the invention, and,

Figure 5 shows a sectional view of two cylinders mounted in a plate according to the invention.

Referring to Fig. l, I designates a cylinder of a double-acting, multi-cylindrical hot-gas piston engine and 2 designates part of a mounting plate. Adapted to move up and down in the cylinder I is a piston 3, which is provided with a piston rod 4 and a connecting rod 5. The piston rod 4 travels in a straight-line guide 6. The cylinder I is secured to the mounting plate 2 in that it comprises a section 1 of smaller internal diameter to receive the top member of the straight-line guide 6 and since this straight-line guide is threaded in part, a nut 8 permits of the straightline guide, and hence the cylinder I, being set tightly in the mounting plate 2. For an accurate centering of the cylinder and the straight-line guide and a correct positioning of the said two components there are required only three fitting surfaces a, b and c.

, The-cylinder I carries a sheath 9 of thin material, which forms the top member of the cylinder. The piston 3 is shown in its highest position. It

.will be seen that the piston springs do not contact the sheath 9. 1

Secured to the mountingplate 2 by means of a screw joint is a heat-exchanging element, in this case a cooler I 9. This cooler is provided with internal ribs I I and external ribs 52. A cooling medium may pass over the external ribs I2, whereas the working medium of the hot-gas engine which is required to be cooled, flows over the internal ribs I I.

The cooler i 8 is provided at its upper end with a threaded fiange I3. United with this flange by a screw cap I4 is a heat-exchangingelement It, which in this case is a heater, provided with in- .ternal ribs I1 and external ribs I8. The working medium of the hot-gas engine, which is to be heated, flows over the internal ribs Il The combustion gases of a burner (not shown) flow over the external ribs I8. The head IQ of the motor is integral with the heater I5. This structural element, moreover, holds a regenerator 26.

In a multi-cylinder hot-gas piston engine the nel ZLunites the part of the cylinder below the piston, through a recess in the piston-rod guide v6 and the cylinder I with'the space above the pis- "ton in another cylinder, whereas on the other hand the space above the piston in the cylinder I communicates through the channel 22 with the space below the piston in another cylinder.

It is obvious that manufacturing, mounting and dismounting of the hot-gas engine described are simple; moreover, only two nuts are needed for setting tightly the entire cylinder'with the associated heater, regenerator, cooler and pistonrod straight-line guide. Communication with channel 22 takes placein any .positicnof the cylinder I and the connection to channel 2! does not require particularly accurate operations. a

The screw threads and nuts may be single or multiple threaded and it is also possible to do away with one or more of the screw-threads, such as replacing them by a screwjoint constructed after the manner of the well-known bayonet joint.

Referring to Fig. 2, I0 again designates the cooler, I3 the cooler flange, I5 the heater and 20 the regenerator. Here the heater and cooler are not interconnected by a screw cap, but by a, bipartite pinching joint 24 consisting of two halves which by means of lugs 25 are interconnected by bolts. If desired, one set of lugs 25 may be formed as a hinge. Also this construction ensures a simple, reliable and readily detachable joint.

Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically the arrangement of a four-cylinder, double-acting hot-gas piston engine. The center lines (not shown) of the four cylinders are located on a circle; the pistons act on a swash plate mechanism and the mounting plate to which the cylinders are fitted may be formed to a shape as designated diagrammatically by 3|.

Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically a further arrangement. Here the center lines (not shown) of the cylinders 32 are located at the corners of a lozenge and the pistons act on a centrally arranged crank shaft. In this so-called V-arrangement the mounting plate may be formed in a shape as designated diagrammatically by 33.

Figure 5 shows in section two cylinders mounted in a plate 2 according to the invention more fully described with reference to Figure l.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is:

1. A hot-gas piston engine cylinder and mounting plate assembly comprising means defined by said mounting plate for receiving said cylinder, a piston-rod straight-line guide joined to said mounting plate by .screw joint means, said screw joint means being disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder, means on said straight-line guide for fastening said cylinder to said cylinder receiving means, a cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about said cylinder, and second screw joint means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said heat exchange assembly to said mounting plate.

2. A hot-gas piston engine cylinder and mounting plate assembly comprising means defined by said mountingplate for receiving said cylinder, a piston-rod straight-line guideijoine'dtosaid mounting plate by screw joint means, said screw joint means being disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder, means on said straight-line guide for fastening said cylinder to said cylinder receiving means, a cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about a substantial portion of said cylinder adjacent said mounting plate, second screw joint'means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said heat exchange assembly to said mounting plate, a second cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about'the remaining portion of said cylinder remote from said mounting plate, and joint means disposed concentricallyof the center line of said cylinder for fastening said second heat exchange assembly to said first heat exchange assembly. I

3. A hot-gas piston engine cylinder and mount ing plate assembly comprising means defined by said mounting plate for receiving said cylinder, a piston-rod straight line guide joined to said mounting plate by screw joint means, said screw joint means being disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder, means on said straight-line guide for fastening said cylinder to said cylinder receiving means, a cylindrical mounting plate, second screw joint means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said heat exchange assembly to said mounting plate, a second cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about the remaining portion of said cylinder remote from said mounting plate, and screw joint means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said second heat exchange assembly to said first heat exchange assembly.

4. A hot-gas piston engine cylinder and mounting plate assembly comprising means defined by said mounting plate for receiving said cylinder, a piston-rod straight-line guide joined to said mounting plate by screw joint means, said screw joint means being disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder, means on said straight-line guide for fastening said cylinder to said cylinder receiving means, a cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about a substantial portion of said cylinder adjacent said mounting plate, second screw joint means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said heat exchange assembly to said mounting plate, a second cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about the remaining portion of said cylinder remote from said mounting plate and pinching joint means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said second heat exchange assembly t said first heat exchange assembly.

5. A hot-gas piston engine cylinder and mounting plate assembly comprising means defined by said mounting plate for receiving said cylinder, a piston-rod straight-line guide joined to'said mounting plate by screw joint means, said screw joint means being disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder, means on said straight-line guide for fastening said cylinder to said cylinder receiving means, a cylindrical heat exchange assembly disposed about said cylinder to define an annular space therebetween, second screw joint means disposed concentrically of the center line of said cylinder for fastening said heat exchange assembly to said mounting plate, first channel means in the body of said mounting plate opening into said annular space defined between said heat exchange assembly and said cylinder, and said second channel means in the body of said mounting plate opening into the space defined within said cylinder.

6. A hot-gas piston engine multiple cylinder and mounting plate assembly comprising means defined by said mounting plate for receiving said cylinders, a plurality of piston-rod straight-line guides each joined to said mounting plate by separate screw joint means, said screw joint means each being disposed concentrically of the center line'of one of the said cylinders, respectively, means on each of said straight-line guides for fastening the said cylinder operatively associated therewith to said cylinder receiving means, a plurality of cylindrical heat exchange assemblies each disposed about a substantial portion of each one of said cylinders, respectively, adjacent said mounting plate to define an annular space therebetween, connecting means disposed concentrically of the center line of each of said cylinders for fastening each of said heat exchange assemblies to said mounting plate, a plurality of second cylindrical heat exchange assemblies disposed about the remaining portions of each of said cylinders remote from said mounting plate, and connecting means disposed concentrically of the center line of the said cylinder operatively associated therewith for fastening said each second heat exchange assembly to said first heat exchange assembly operatively associated therewith, and a plurality of channel means in the body of said mounting plate, each of said channel means opening at one end thereof into one of said annular spaces defined between one of said heat exchange assemblies and one of the said cylinders operatively associated therewith, and at the other end thereof into the space defined within another of said cylinders.

ALEXANDRE HOROWITZ. HENDRIK ALBERT BOSSCHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 10,486 Wilcox June 3, 1884 228,716 Woodbury et al June 8, 1880 334,153 Babcock Jan. 12, 1886 1,508,522 Lundgaard Sept. 16, 1924 1,743,908 Anderson Jan. 14, 1930 2,426,108 Loewe Aug. 19, 1947 2,449,930 Davey Sept. 21, 1948 2,461,132 Urschel et a1 Feb. 8, 1949 

